Bleach 598, 599 & 600 Reviews – This Might Take A While

Bleach 598, 599 & 600 Reviews – This Might Take A While
Written by: ClayDragon

Normal service has resumed.

Firstly, I’m sorry for missing not one, but two Bleach chapters over the last fortnight. I won’t bore you with the details, but the gist of it is that pretty much every force in the universe seemed to conspire against me (especially those related to university). I think I’m on top of things now though, so you shouldn’t need to worry about me missing any reviews from now on. In terms of this review, I’m just going to review the most recent chapter as normal, and then discuss my thoughts on the previous two chapters at the end – because let’s face it, this review will be long enough as it is without me fully covering two more chapters.

This is how I feel every day of my life.

Upon being shot in the head by Lille Barro, Senjumaru’s body falls to the ground. Gerard immediately calls Barro out, telling him off for leaving her body right in Yhwach’s path. At Barro’s request, Pernida uses his/her/its power to crush Senjumaru’s body into a ball and roll it out of the way. Gerard and Barro then discuss how weak Squad Zero are, and note that there’s never been anyone who didn’t disappoint them in a fight.

Lovely.

Barro then pulls out his ridiculously oversized rifle and methodically shoots every one of the floating islands, causing them to break apart and fall from the sky. The way clear, Barro kneels before Yhwach and tells him to watch his step as they progress. However, at this point the landscape of the Soul Palace changes and ripples, and it’s revealed that the battlefield was actually surrounded by cloth made by Senjumaru.

LCD curtains - coming soon!

The real Senjumaru hid behind the cloth and manipulated it in such a way that the Quincies didn’t notice the difference between the fake Soul Palace and the real one. Furthermore, it’s revealed that the real Soul Palace was hidden from view by Ichibei, who was able to use his powers to completely obscure the real Soul Palace. As the real Palace becomes visible, Barro prepares to fire at it, only for a tree trunk to sprout from the ground and intercept the bullet.

"What do you mean it's not well-hidden? It's even got a sticker on it that says 'Hidden'!"

Kirio appears from behind a tree and remarks that she made it in time. A number of trees have grown around the battlefield, acting like a cage and sealing the Quincies inside. Undeterred, Barro fire more shots at the trees, but every bullet is simply absorbed by the wood. Kirio explains that the trees are grown from her reiatsu, and that they absorb spirit energy and grow even faster. She then proclaims that the Quincies can riot inside the cage as much as they like, but they won’t get free.

"Let me out! I'm too pretty to be in prison!"

At this point, a big tank of liquid is slammed onto the ground, and Ouetsu appears beside it, giving his usual introductory speech (to the confusion of the Quincies). The tank is seen to hold his Zanpakuto, and as he finished talking he takes it out of the liquid, saying that small fry such as the Quincies won’t be able to get past him.

Did he carry that heavy tank there himself?

Okay, there’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get started with Chapter 598 (We Only Have to Beat You). Firstly, Ganju’s back! And his pet boar too! I honestly didn’t see that coming, and I don’t really know how to feel about it. On one hand, I can see why he’s there – in order to show the parallels between the start of the Soul Society arc and the current adventure – but I can’t really see Ganju being of much use. I mean, he doesn’t even have a Zanpakuto, and all he can do is turn ground into sand. How will that help defeat Yhwach?

"No animals are allowed in the cannon!"

Nianzol’s defeat was another point of contention. Whilst I understand that it was done in order to show how strong Senjumaru is, it happened way too quickly. With the power to warp the fabric of space, Nianzol could have been a serious threat, and it would have been interesting to see him fight properly. Instead, he’s defeated one chapter after his introduction and, by the look of the most recent chapter, it appears that he’s been killed off already. We didn’t even get to see his Vollständig, for crying out loud.

"She headbutted me in the eye...Good times,"

On to chapter 599 (Too Early To Win, Too Late To Know)! Yhwach’s Elite Force is interesting enough, I guess, but I only really want to see two of them. Gerard Valkyrie (‘The Miracle’) just seems like a generic bruiser, and doesn’t have that much of a personality. His power sounds interesting, but so far he just seems like a Thor rip-off. It’s a similar case with Lille Barro (‘The X-Axis’).  For a start, his title sounds interesting (it has also been called ‘The Exorcist’ in some translations), but all he’s done is shoot stuff and be arrogant. Commissioner Quincy has already done that, so why do we need another one?

You are such a Thor ripoff it hurts.

On the other hand, I’m really interested in Pernida Parnkgjas (‘The Compulsory’). Whilst there’s no way I can pronounce his surname, the fact that we know nothing about him, not even his gender, make him the most memorable new arrival. He seems to have the power to bend/crush/fold whatever he wants, but given how he doesn’t speak, it hasn’t really been elaborated on. Plus, he kind of looks like an evil Quincy Jawa. Finally, we get to know what Askin’s letter stands for. It wasn’t ‘The Door’ like I thought it would be, but actually ‘The Deathdealing’, which sounds much cooler. Despite not actually doing much, Askin is one of my favourite Quincies, and hopefully we’ll get to find out more about his intentions and motivations soon.

"I'm back, bitches!"

Finally, I’m going to talk a bit about chapter 600 (Snipe). I was surprised when it looked as if Senjumaru had died so quickly, but I should have known that it would have been a fake-out. On a somewhat related note, where is Tenjirō? He wasn’t wounded or immobilised by Yhwach, and it looked as though he was on the platform that Kirio surrounded with trees, so what’s he doing?

"In fact, I've brought a body bag specifically for him!"

It was good to see Squad Zero actually working together, as it’s very rare to see Soul Reapers actively team up and combine their abilities. I’m looking forward to seeing Ouetsu fight, and I really want to see his Zanpakuto – after all, he created every Zanpakuto in the series, so I can’t even begin to imagine what his one is like.

The only bad thing about this panel is that we don't get to see Yhwach's reaction.

Chapter 598 Review – We Only Have to Beat You:

Good Things:      Ganju’s triumphant return.

                              Ichigo and co. are finally on their way.

                             Senjumaru effortlessly defeating Nianzol.

Bad Things:        No more focus on the Zombie Captains.

                             Nianzol being beaten so quickly.

                                    

Manga Rating:   3/5

I have Urahara heads now! Credit goes to Voozel.

Chapter 599 Review – Too Early To Win, Too Late To Know:

Good Things:     The appearance of the Elite Force.

                             Pernida looks like one of the more mysterious Sternritter seen so far.

                             More focus on Askin.

Bad Things:        Half of the Elite Force are bland and boring.

                             Yhwach has done nothing since he arrived.

                                    

Manga Rating:   3/5

Chapter 600 Review – Snipe:

Good Things:     Senjumaru pulled a fast one on the Elite Force.

                             Squad Zero properly working together.

                             Ouetsu joins the fight.

Bad Things:        Half of the Elite Force are still bland and boring.

                             Tenjirō just seems to have vanished.

                                    

Manga Rating:   3/5

ClayDragon:









ClayDragon is currently studying Physics at university, and is constantly bewildered by it. The main method of contacting him is his Gmail account at kyleroulston1993@gmail.com. The alternative is his Skype account at kyleroulston1993, but he doesn’t use it that much. When not playing games or reading, he can be found with his head in his hands whilst trying in vain to understand quantum physics. Get me out of this hellhole!